Colorado Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen was reportedly acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team trade on Friday night. Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks teamed up with the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes on a monumental three-team trade earlier this week, sending forward Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes and receiving a draft pick in return.

As Chicago's rebuild moves forward, the 3-team blockbuster trade is about the major details, not the minor ones.

The Blackhawks failed in this trade and are the suckers of the deal by not getting nearly enough for trading Taylor Hall and retaining $4.625 million on Rantanen's contract. They retained no cap on Hall's $6 million cap hit,

While Mikko Rantanen stole the headlines, the Carolina Hurricanes acquired Taylor Hall on Friday too, who waived his no-trade clause to chase a Stanley Cup.

The first major domino has fallen more than a month before the March 7 trade deadline, with Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall going to the Hurricanes and Martin Necas heading to the Avalanche in a three-team blockbuster,

Getting a 3rd round pick from the Hurricanes gives the Blackhawks nine total selections in the upcoming draft.

The trade is a stunning midseason swap of point-per-game players in their primes, an anomaly in the NHL trade market in the salary-cap era.

The Chicago Blackhawks today announced that the team has acquired a third-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Taylor Hall. Chicago will also retain 50 percent of Mikko Rantanen’s salary cap hit as part of the trade.

Carolina didn't get the win and Hall didn't get on the scoresheet, but he wasn't invisible either. He lined up on the fourth line with Jack Roslovic and Juha Jaaska and recorded three shots and one hit in 11:36 of ice time.

The first major domino on the NHL trade market has fallen. On Jan. 24, the Colorado Avalanche dealt elite winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury.